Embassy of Honduras in the United States of AmericaJorge Alberto Milla Reyes1014 M Street NWWashington, DC 20001

Ambassador Milla Reyes:

We are scholars, activists and members of the academic community connected to the Committee on U.S.-Latin American Relations (CUSLAR) at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. We understand that in the early morning hours of Sunday, March 6, 2016, Mexican citizen Gustavo Castro Soto was detained in the Tegucigalpa Airport by Honduran authorities, who took him into custody and did not allow him to board the airplane that would return him to Mexico.

Mr. Castro Soto was the lone witness to the murder of Honduran indigenous environmentalist leader Berta Caceres early Thursday morning, March 3. Castro suffered injuries during the attack and has given the necessary depositions to Honduran authorities. He must be allowed to return to his native Mexico to recuperate.

We, the undersigned, call for Honduran authorities to immediately release Mr. Gustavo Castro Soto from their custody and guarantee him a safe return to his home country.